


day two - yellow zero

by maria_no



Category: Persona 5
Genre: M/M, Shuake Week 2020, UNO, gratuitous lateness to the proverbial party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27602399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maria_no/pseuds/maria_no
Summary: I guess we still have time to talk about it.day two - games
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Kudos: 7





	day two - yellow zero

“Uno.”

“Draw four. Red. Your move, honey.”

“You’re kind of a bitch sometimes, Goro.”

The sun was setting. They’d been playing for a fair while now, for glory, perhaps. Likely for fun.

Surely for fun.

Of course, Uno with Goro Akechi is never just fun.

“You say that I’m a bitch like it isn’t an established, unspoken fact, like it isn’t deeply integrated into my lore. Honestly?”

Ren hesitantly pulls from the draw pile, once, twice, before they get a red two and place it on the table.

“You get pretty bitchy during Uno, too.”

“It’s an intense game, okay?”

If someone did manage to get in, they couldn’t even try to guess as to what the boys’ relationship was. That is, because they were both neck-deep in the Uno sauce.

“Oh, look, two cards. I guess that you–”

“Red eight.”

“Uh–”

“Uno. One card to your seven. How will you slide out of this?” He shoots them a wink, which is closer to a death glare here.

He’s bluffing. Isn’t he? He can’t have any cards that good. Just—

Fucking—

Draw, you bastard.

One, two cards. The second is a yellow eight,

it’s on the table,

their confidence peaks,

“Wild. I win.”

That poker face of theirs was starting to get on Goro’s nerves. He’s so glad it’s gone.

“Well, it’s nothing. Uno is remarkably simple. I just love winning, and especially winning against you.”

I’m so surprised, they almost said.

“Your K-D ratio is off the charts, Goro...Akechi.”

Goro gives Ren a weird look, like they just called him by the wrong name, and they realize they've been hanging around Futaba quite a bit lately.

“You’ve been slaying. Absolutely demolishing my self esteem. Your sheer prowess in this game is causing me visible distress,” they almost muttered, then spat, and Goro perked up again.

“Ah, so you’re recognizing me for my true skill. You’re not bad, but I can say I expected more from the former leader of the Phantom Thieves.”

A sparkle of annoyance in Ren’s flat expression, and in turn, a small smile on Goro.

“Actually, that was a lie. You fucking suck at this.”

There we go. Somehow Ren is even cuter when they’re mad. He kind of likes this look for them.

“...I can’t deny a...lack of skill, but I certainly have more experience than you. I think respect is deserved here.”

“...Are we going for another round, or have I finally tired you out?”

“I’m not tired. Just fatigued.”

Even post-all the nonsense, there’s always been something strange about their interactions. Perhaps it’s the way they barely need to speak to each other to make something known, or how even the other’s presence is calming enough to be considered a favor.

It’s a lot like how cats socialize, Ren thinks. Only more aggressive, flirtatious, and aggressively flirtatious.

It’s a lot like how cats socialize, except one of the “unspoken but known” things is the undeniable fact that there’s something going on between them, that they’re more than rivals and more than friends and if one move is made at the wrong time then the whole Jenga tower could collapse—

“Fatigue is worse, Ren. You aren’t making a good case for yourself. It’s getting late, don’t you think?”

“Heh.”

“Good night.”

No, it’s nothing like cats, silly. They’re too quick to jump to conclusions like that. It’s mostly a game, as the two are wont to play. But a relationship is weirder than Uno, isn’t it? That’s one of the unavoidable pitfalls of life.

But it's not that it's completely unlike cats. It's cats and chess and Uno and a biblical allegory, it's key lime pie and the sun right after the night, all at the same time. Steeped in white and bathed in black, firm as steel and fragile as an eggshell.

They’re surely gonna make a move someday. They just hope it’s too strong to fall by then.

**Author's Note:**

> oh no. oooh nooo


End file.
